Reappearance
by i.rock.too.hard.for.love
Summary: After leaving her sitting in the woods that fateful day, Edward still has not returned for her. At 19, Bella has not forgotten Edward, but has moved on...and gotten pregnant with Mike's baby. No one knows except Bella. R&R!
1. The Wedding

_ "Take a step, Bells. Breathe. Don't forget to breathe. Take another step. Breathe. Smile, Smile, Smile. Goddamn it Bella, breathe! Just a few more steps!" _I thought to myself as I slowly closed the gap between me, the altar, and him.

While walking, I surveyed the tiny church I was currently in. The white candles flickered, sending a haunting glow over the red roses. My bridesmaids' dresses shone bloodred in the flickering candlelight and set off their pale skin. Renee stood slightly behind them, smiling aloofly, a mother's proud glow about her while a tear slowly slipped down her face.

As the distance between me and the altar was shrunk to a few mere steps, I felt my heart beat faster, and faster, and faster. _"So this is it,"_ I thought excitedly, taking the last few steps to him, to the rest of my life.

I hugged Charlie, whispered "I love you, Dad," in his ear, kissed his cheek, and squeezed his hand. He smiled his blessing and released me to him, the love of my life.

The last haunting note of the organ melted into the air, and I stepped up to the altar, handed my bouquet away, and met Renee's eyes. She mouthed, "You look beautiful, Bells," and beamed.

I turned to him and smiled shyly, although I don't know why I was still shy around him. He took my hand, rubbing his thumb back and forth over the back of it. I squeezed his hand knowing that this was it, this was forever.

We gave out vows, his of course being eloquent and beautiful, making mine sound choppy and meaningless in comparison. When we came near the 'I do's' and the preacher said, "…speak now or forever hold your peace," an unfamiliar rush cascaded over me. I strained my ears to hear, just in case, even though there was obviously no noise in the church.

"You may now kiss the bride." The preacher said, and Mike's blue eyes came closer and closer and closer to me his face coming closer, closing the space between us.

Seconds before our lips touched, that voice, so long unheard, echoed through the church with a resonating bang of the doors.

"Bella, please…no…I…," Edward said, his perfect voice cracking, "Please don't do this! I'm sorry, Bella, I'm so sorry."

Renee rushed onstage just in time to catch me as a fell to the floor in a dead faint.


	2. Switchover

**BELLA'S DIARY…**

Well, my wedding has been over for exactly six hours. After my oh-so-dramatic faint in the church, Renee and Charlie rushed me home much to my (and Mike's) chagrin. Such an expensive wedding, too…

The words I keep forcing into my head: "I love Mike." "Mike is the love of my life." "Mike is my forever." "With Mike, I will never think of Him again." have thus far not grafted themselves into my brain yet. And after…he…showed up at the church ON MY WEDDING DAY and ruined everything, I doubt I'll ever really believe those things even though Mike does love me and will protect me. After the love I had felt for Edward, I just couldn't ever love another man.

Edward's voice screams in my head every second. I can hear the cracks, the desperation, the sorrow, the _regret_ in his every word. 'Bella, please,' he had pleaded. Please, what, goddamn it?

Forgive him for leaving me alone and stranded and hurting and dying in the forest that day, a year and a half ago? Forgive him for leaving me, breaking my trust?

My resolve to never forgive him again wavers every time I hear his voice.

**EPOV**

Watching Bella, my Bella, standing at the altar, and watching Mike stand where I should have been, damn near killed me. Not literally, of course. I did however, almost rip Mike limb from limb…

Living this life full of night, full of darkness, full of cold, barren existence with no sun has been hell for me. Not a second goes by that I stop thinking of her face staring after me as I left her in the forest. Regret does not even begin to cover it.

When Alice had her premonition of Mike and Bella getting married, I knew I could not live without my love, my sun, my Bella a second longer. When she told me, I left Seattle, where I had been staying, and came to her.

Billions of thoughts rushed through my head on the way there._ 'What if she really does love Mike? This is what I wanted. But Mike? Why Mike? I wanted her to go to college and find a good doctor who could always take care of her, no matter what she happened to do. But what if she is moved on? How can I stop her if she is really, truly in love?'_

That stupid, nagging part of me had to be sure. I could not have Bella become a Newton as opposed to a Cullen if she was only doing it to make someone happy. _'Probably Charlie,'_ I thought disgustedly.

I made it to Forks the evening of her wedding day, hoping, praying it wasn't too late. I caught a thought, random, but incredibly useful, in a lady on the street's head. _'Goddamn it, where's Chief Swan? Those damn hooligans…Ah well, his daughter's wedding has to be over soon now, and he'll soon be of some help around town again…damn weddings...'_

_'There might still be a chance' _I thought desperately and ran to the tiny little Christian Community Church, the church that Bella had told me, so many months ago, that she wanted to get married in.

As I ran to the door, I could hear the preacher say, _'you may now kiss the bride...'_

I flew through the doors to see my Bella leaning towards Newton, their lips about to meet.

"Bella, please…no…I…," I said, "Please don't do this! I'm sorry, Bella, I'm so sorry."

Our eyes met for a fraction of a second before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she slumped to the floor, into Renee's arms.

Racing ever so slowly as to keep my human persona alive, I tried to get near her only to be subdued by Jacob Black.

He roughly grabbed my arm, sending a burning heat wave through me. _'He's a werewolf,'_ I though as Jacob growled menacingly.

Jacob dragged me outside and threw me into the street. Had I not been so surprised, the damned animal would have been mincemeat be now.

"Stay away from her, bloodsucker." He spat menacingly.

From inside the church I heard Bella say "Edward. Where's Edward?"

Wanting to go to her so much it hurt but knowing I couldn't sent fire down my spine and on an angry rampage I went.

I ended up at her house, in her room. I sat on her floor breathing in her heavenly scent and touching her things. I opened her top drawer—her underwear drawer, I silently mentioned to myself—and found the most surprising of things.

'What the hell does Bella need this for?' I asked myself, holding up the tiny, yellow sleeper and a tiny pair of while Nike tennis shoes. Exactly the size a newborn baby might wear. I stuffed them back in her drawer, flew out her window and made my way furiously to Newton's house.

BPOV

Once I had tired of writing all of my many thoughts down in my diary, I settled on the couch and flicked through the channels.

Love story after love story after love story popped up. I jumped up in frustration, turned the TV off, and made my way up to my room, thinking wistfully about the fact that if Edward hadn't ruined my wedding, I might be with Mike, celebrating right now. We might have been getting drunk off our asses, or kissing in the after-midnight moonlight. No, I didn't love Mike, not like that, but he was a damn good kisser…

Once in my room, I grabbed my toiletries bag and started to grab my pajamas off my bed, only to find that they'd been moved from their pell-mell state, and were now folded neatly on my pillow.

"He's been here." I muttered out loud, throwing myself down on my bed and crying.

After my last few sniffles had subsided, I got up slowly and stood at my window, only for a moment, to see if he was out there, watching me right now, knowing that even if he was, I wouldn't have seen him if he didn't want me to.

I turned from my window with a sigh and gasped.

Edward, the Greek God himself, was standing behind me, watching me with a burning intensity.


	3. Disclaimer

Shoot! I've been forgetting to do this in my last Chapters.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or New Moon, or Edward, or Bella. Or Forks, or Charlie, or anything. The only thing that is mine in this storyline. (Of course, if I did own Edward, I would steal him and keep him for myself.)

And a special thanks to: 2sleepy2write-wake-me-up-later, Sweetly Sarcastic, smileon, Divine Rosey, shoombadoosarah, and johanna-cullen for being my first reviewers. And they were so nice. You're nifty!


	4. AN

Hey guys…

Life has caught up with me worse than ever before and some really crappy things have happened.

I won't go into detail, but I haven't had much time for posting anything lately. Expect something by the end of the week, OK?

Thanks for bearing with me!


	5. Orbit

**BPOV**

I gasped and stumbled backwards onto my bed as Edward watched me.

"Bella," Edward started before I lifted my hand to stop him.

"No, Edward. No. Leave. I've moved on and I don't need to hear you say another word. I don't WANT to hear you say another word. You ruined my life but I've moved on. I never want to see you again." I said, wondering the whole time whether it sounded as unconvincing to him as it did to me.

Shock crossed Edward's face briefly before he once again regained that air of confidence that I found so infuriating. He flashed that crooked smile to me and I knew that it had, indeed, sounded weak to him.

"Bella, I'm not here to convince you to take me back, or even to consider it. I just wanted to congratulate you on doing exactly what I had hoped you would do. Newton—I had hoped for better, but he is good for you. He will always take care of you…and the baby. His, I presume?"

I jumped up and slapped Edward as hard as I could muster. Gasping at the pain shooting up my arm, I fell to the ground and burst for the third time that day into tears.

**EPOV**

I knew I was deliberately being cruel to Bella. I knew that I deserved to feel that slap. But I didn't. Bella's slap was as gentle to me as a raindrop falling on my shoulder.

What hurt me the most was the look on Bella's face. Her eyes flashed but there was a deep sadness in them, portrayed by all of the tears slipping down her face. Her lips were trembling but there was a hardness to her mouth. She had her lips set in a way that caused lines to form around them making her age 10 years in a mere second.

Remorse hit me hard. I bent to where Bella was holding her hand in front of her and gently pulled her up in my arms and sat her on the bed.

Taking her hand as gently as I could in mine, I started to bend all of her fingers to check for breaks. There were none so I stood up and moved to the rocking chair in the corner of her room.

"As much as you apparently don't want to, we need to talk, Bella."

She nodded, not meeting my eyes, and began to speak.

**BPOV**

"The day you left me in the forest was, at the time, the worst day of my life. I couldn't pick myself out of my depression for months and months and months. Finally one day, I realized that you weren't coming back. I started getting involved with school and me and Jess and Angela went shopping, and Charlie and I went to movies—and when Mike asked me out for the 100th time since you left, I agreed.

"I had the most fun I had had since you left. We went to the fair in Port Angeles. Mike was great. He kept me laughing the whole night, and he won me…that…" I pointed to a stuffed animal in the corner of my room. Edward's eyes flickered to it and back to my face.

"Anyways, after that, we did stuff a lot. When he kissed me for the first time I was disgusted because it wasn't you kissing me, but I grew to like it over time. Mike is a great kis…umm, and we went out to dinner and stuff. And I could talk to him without feeling like I was under-educated. He fell in love with me, and I became…fond…of him.

"The night he asked me to marry him, I said yes because of Charlie. Charlie was always more happy when I was with Mike than anyone. Even me. I wanted to prove to him that I had moved on and he could relax again.

"That night, we were at Jess's good-bye party because she got accepted into Albertson's which is this little private college in Idaho that she's always wanted to go to. There was alcohol—a lot of alcohol—and Mike and I got really, really drunk.

Here I had to pause because I knew how Edward felt about me and alcohol. I could feel his disapproval from across the room.

"And then…umm…we, uh, we…" I stammered nervously.

"You had sex." Edward stated bluntly.

I blushed and nodded.

"It was a mistake, Edward. We were really drunk and it was both of our first times and we regretted it. And then I found out I was pregnant. And now here we are." I finished lamely.

Edward looked at me

"I didn't tell Mike because I didn't want him to think that we were only getting married because we were pregnant. He still doesn't know. And why am I even telling you this?" I asked myself before burying my face in my hands.

"You're the one that left me to die—well, not to die—in that damned forest so long ago. I moved on. I MOVED ON!!" I suddenly screamed.

"Why the hell are you here? How is it that you make me tell you things I don't even tell Mike? I don't answer to you! Go, Edward! Leave!"

With that, I threw myself down onto my bed and cried and cried and cried until my throat was raw and exhaustion finally took me into a dreamless sleep.

Guys, I am so sorry about the long wait…and here this is, basically unedited and short as hell because I ran out of computer time at my house. Again, so sorry! I will try to update again soon...


	6. Showdown

**BPOV**

**4 months later**

The day I moved out of Charlie's house to move into a tiny apartment to be with my baby, when the time came around, was the first day of my life where I felt liberated. Me, Isabella Marie Swan, certified klutz, pregnant teenager with no college education and a full-time waitress job in addition to her previous part-time job, was taking responsibility for herself, paying for her own rent, and buying her own groceries! True, I hadn't gotten new anything since the move, and was mostly wearing thrift-store maternity clothes, but I was doing well with what I had.

Mike and I had planned on going our separate ways after I told him about our baby; it seemed he didn't want to be a father and I didn't believe in abortion or think I could give my baby away, but that hadn't worked out too well. He continued to live with his parents and asked me every day if I wanted him to move in with me. I didn't know what would happen once the baby was born and he remembered that he didn't want to be a father figure just yet. I supposed we'd get to that bridge when we came to it.

Renee was ecstatic about the baby; basically the opposite of Charlie, who wouldn't meet my eyes and refused to talk to Mike at all. Renee was going to be there on my due date, which was January 21, and sent me things for the baby at least once a month.

But no matter how excited I got about the baby, I still couldn't help but be a little angry, at myself and at Mike for putting me in this situation. I should be setting out to go to college and live a totally different life; devoid of children forever, had I gotten my first choice, or just for about 10 years if I had gotten at least my second.

And I still seemed to see Edward wherever I went, no matter where it was. We hadn't spoken a word to each other since that day, 4 months ago, when I told him about the pregnancy, but still, there he was; a constant reminder of what once had been. He was living in their old house in the woods and doing God knows what, seeing as he couldn't go back to school and wouldn't work.

I ran into him one day outside of the Mustard Seed, a LDS-run thrift store on Main Street here in Forks. What he was doing outside a thrift store, rich little vampire that he was, was beyond me, but there he was, watching my 5-month-pregnant body waddle down the street.

Ignoring him as I brushed passed him into the dim little shop, I marched directly to the maternity section and began looking through the maternity tops. When I looked up, Edward was standing across from me, his coffee-bean colored eyes watching me attentively. _Go feed, Edward_, I thought while glaring at him.

Out loud, I merely said snappishly, "What do you want?"

He glared, exposing his long lashed and snarled, "What? Am I no longer allowed to shop anymore?"

I laughed, thinking that it was unlike Edward to get so worked up that he acted stupid.

"OK, Edward. Let me point a few things out, seeing as you just made two mistakes with that rather witty comeback. A, this is a thrift store. You're rich. You don't need to shop here of all places. And B, this is the maternity section. Hopefully you can't get pregnant."

I turned away and began searching the rack behind me. Finding a peach-colored eyelet lace top, I pulled it out and slung it over my arm for trying on. I rummaged through the racks, looking for some more pleasing finds and found a few before I turned around yet again to find Edward staring at me.

"What do you _want_? You have been staring at me for like 20 minutes and its really starting to bother me. Would you stop?"

He spoke up quietly. "Bella, I can buy you everything you need. You don't have to wear rags."

It was my turn to glare at him.

"That is the most insulting thing you have ever said to me! I don't need you for anything! I like being able to buy myself what I need. And these are _not_ rags. I have not ever nor will ever be poor enough to wear rags. They're just simply used. I cannot believe you even thought to ask me!"

With that, I whirled around and stomped to the dressing room. It would have been one of the most empowering moments of my life—had it not been for my insane clumsiness. I managed to twist one of my feet around and caught the dangling sleeve of a sweater. My body turned back in Edwards direction and I almost fell to the ground. Almost.

Edward managed to run to me and catch me as gently as ever, his arms around my waist and our faces nearly touching. My breath came in short gasps and I could feel the baby moving in my belly which was pressed uncomfortably against his abs.

He looked at me, sadness in his eyes, and made to let me go, his arms loosening from around me.

What I next did, well, I have to say I was only human. His eyes, his smell, his cool breath on my cheek were too much. My lips pressed lightly against his and my hands tightened into his hair.

Edward's arms immediately tightened around me again, pulling me close. I kissed him eagerly, having not done so in 2 years.

When my baby jerked, the hardest it ever had, I pulled away from him, turning my face and not meeting his eyes.

His hand rose to the side of my face, his thumb brushing a path along my cheekbone and his inhuman hands forcing me to look at him.

"I'm not sorry." Were the last things he said to me before he brushed my lips again with his and walked out of the store.

I, of course, burst into tears.

**_Well, here is another one almost a month later. Sorry, once again. And also, sorry about the fluff, but it leads to some plot, I promise. But if you expect action this is not the story for you. It is a love story, after all...and it will end a love story._**

**_Thanks for being so patient!_**

**_Oh, and P.S. The Mustard Seed is a real place in the town I live in, and it is a thrift store run by the LDS church, just in case you were wondering at the weird name. No, I would not have come up with that myself..._**


	7. SaviorStalker

I managed to get out of the Mustard Seed quickly without buying anything and hurried to work. Trying to hide my obvious aloofness and distraction proved to be harder than I had expected.

I could not stop thinking about Edward. I saw the passion in his eyes, and felt the feelings that I hadn't felt in 2 years when we kissed over and over again all afternoon. Reliving the moments over and over was making me regret that it had ever happened.

"Are you okay, dear?" Mrs. Graham, the lady buying dinner asked me.

I smiled hurriedly. "Oh, yes, Mrs. Graham, I'm fine. Just a little tired, you know." I placed a hand on my rapidly swelling belly and shrugged.

She smiled understandingly and nodded, she having 6 kids of her own.

"If you need any help with anything, dear, you just call me."

"Thanks, Mrs. Graham," I said back while hoping that she would leave so I could lock up the diner.

"Have a good night, Bella." She said before walking out the door.

"'Night, Mrs. Graham!" I said before muttering "Finally."

Hormones had been hitting me hard the past couple of hours, making me feel like I was PMSing, something that I was glad to have given up for the past 5 months.

Guilt rushed over me and I thought a quick apology to Mrs. Graham before walking slowly and carefully around all of the square tables to the back of the restaurant where the door into the kitchens and the lockers were.

Hanging up my apron in my locker and grabbing my purse, I grabbed the keys to lock the doors and had almost reached the door when a voice growled behind me,

"If I'da know you would be so damn pissy, I wouldn't have hired you, Isabella. If I hear you being rude to another one of my customers, you're fired, missy."

I whirled around, utterly startled, and saw the unshaven face of my boss and the owner of the diner, Roger. He had a cigar in his fingers and reeked of stale brandy.

"I'm sorry, Roger. Call it pregnancy hormones, if you will. When did you get in here?"

"It's my own damn restaurant, Isabella Swan, and I'll come in if I damn well please, whenever I damn well want to!" he yelled.

"Sorry, Roger. I didn't mean anything by it." I stammered, becoming more frightened of my drunken boss than ever.

He made a sudden move toward me and ended up with his face in mine and his hand squeezing my thigh. I opened my mouth to scream, but his hand hurriedly clapped over my mouth.

"Well, girly, what have we here? You making moves on your old boss man?" He chuckled under his breath while moving the hand on my thigh slowly up and down, getting higher ever time his hand made the up motion.

He moved the hand over my mouth to grip my arm and pressed his lips over mine. I froze and tears rolled down my face as his tongue pushed into my mouth.

My baby kicked and I knew that something bad would happen if I didn't take charge.

I bit down as hard as I could on the offending object in my mouth causing Roger to pull away screaming as blood rolled out of his mouth.

I screamed, a high-pitched, loud scream, hoping that someone, anyone would be close enough to hear me. Even in a town as small as Forks, 9:00 surely wasn't that late.

Roger balled his hand into a fist and made a move to hit me when someone ran in through the door. I caught a flash of white skin and bronze hair before Roger had fallen to the ground, unconscious.

Edward grabbed my hand and pulled me through the door. I whimpered and his grip loosened enough for me to feel him shaking. When we were a safe enough distance from the restaurant that no one would see us, Edward stopped and pulled me into his arms.

"Bella, I heard you scream…did he hurt you…are you OK…I'll kill him." He muttered while he stroked my hair.

Gathering all of my might, I put my hands on Edward's chest and pushed him. He looked surprised and opened his mouth to talk. I stopped him with one of my hands.

"You gave up the right to follow me around and save me constantly when you abandoned me, Edward. Yes, I thank you for saving me. But just…stop. I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself. And the times when I can't, I've got friends that won't ditch me when things get tough to help me."

He growled, put his hand behind my head and pulled my face up to his, his lips pressing against my own as hard and with as much passion as possible. It was the most passionate kiss I had ever experienced with him, and pushing him away became the new hardest thing I had ever done.

"Damn it Bella! I love you! I'm sorry I left! Why won't you give me a second chance?" He said frustratedly, his eyes looking deep into my face as if thinking that he could see the answers there.

"Because, Edward, what happens when your family comes back again and Jasper tries to bite me again? You know that you'll take it out on yourself and you'll leave again. I couldn't take it again, Edward. So for the sake of my baby and my sanity, I can't take you back. No matter how much I still love…you."

Anguish at my refusal and jubilation that I admitted that I still love him covered his face.

"Just leave Edward. I never want to see you. Ever. Ever. Ever again."

I sobbed and turned to walk away, but not before I saw anguish take over his entire face, filling his not topaz eyes. I hurried away from him before realizing that my truck was the opposite way, in front of the restaurant. I turned around again, thinking that Edward would still be watching me and I was surprised to see an empty sidewalk again.

I screamed into the night, knowing that the hardest thing I would ever had to do was done and I would probably never see Edward again. I sobbed, loudly, and got into my truck, drove to my apartment, and cried myself to a night of restless sleep.

_**I AM SOOOOOOO SORRY. LET ME TELL YOU SOME OF THE REASONS WHY I DIDN'T WRITE MY STORY FOR NEARLY 2 MONTHS. OKAY, FIRST, MY BEST FRIEND JUST HAD A BABY. THE BABY'S NAME IS AMITTY, AND SHE IS MY GODDAUGHTER. MY BEST FRIEND WORKS BASICALLY 24/7 SO THIS SUMMER I GAVE HER SOME FREE BABYSITTING WHICH SHE HELD ME TO EVERY DAY, BASICALLY 24/7. THEN I WENT CAMPING FOR 2 WEEKS. NOW HERE WE ARE. AMITTY IS NOW 2 MONTHS OLD AND IS ADORABLE AND MAKES ME WANT TO WRITE ABOUT BELLA AND THE BABY THAT SHE WILL SOON HAVE VERY MUCH. SO HERE WE ARE. THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE, MUCHO. IT WILL STILL BE A WHILE BEFORE I CAN WRITE AGAIN BECAUSE OF MY NEW JOB AT THE MOVIE THEATRE (YESSS!), DEBATE TEAM, HONORS ENGLISH, MATH AND GERMAN, AND THE IMMINANT (BUT DREADED) BEGINNING OF 10**__**TH**__** GRADE!!!! BUT I PROMISE THAT THERE ARE A FEW MORE CHAPTERS IN STORE. THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL OF YOUR PATIENCE, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS (AND PREVIOUS) CHAPTERS.**_


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